How do you know when it’s “Prime Time” to see big mature bucks? I can really only give my personal opinion on this one but many different signs can give us a good idea. Here is what you should be looking for on your next trip to the woods.

Everyone loves to see big rubs and scrapes, I know it get’s me fired up! Many people only look for these obvious signs but there are many things to observe to locate the best areas for taking big deer. The only way to really tell if it is prime time is to be in your treestand seeing the rut take place for yourself. This can be quick process for big bucks and many times they will be in and out of peak breeding. I recommend being in your stand once you recognize this peak period is taking place because this is the number one time to score on a monster buck. Don’t get me wrong hunting rub lines and scrape lines will get you some action but lets get more in depth on some small signs that give us an edge.

The number one thing that will give you a good idea that does are coming into estrus is that they will abandon their yearlings. When you see small yearling deer walking around by them selves you better get to the treestand and get ready. Does will kick the young ones out during this time and begin to look for bucks to breed with. This is when I like to do what I call “Hunt the does.” If you find the does you will find the bucks during this time and probably more than one! Position yourself where you know does are traveling and are going to be feeding. Always remember you have to hunt the deer where they are going to be, not where they are. You have to be able to determine where the deer are going to go and how you can take advantage of their mistakes.

One of the best ways if you are able to do it is to have scouting cameras in your hunting locations. This will give you updated information on where and when deer are moving through your areas. You can also tell alot about a deer by the behavior you catch on film. This can give you a great idea of when and how you need to approach your areas. This could be the best invention in years! What a way to unveil the quality of deer that are available to you. I recommend trying one of these awesome scouting devices if you have not already. It will be well worth the time and money spent.

The next time you enter the woods to scout look for things other hunters may overlook and do not rule out areas with not much sign. There is always more to go on.

Keywords:  Mature Bucks  |  Scouting Cameras 

Popularity: 33% [?]

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Most bass anglers agree that largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass all time their spawns to be on the new and full moons. If you ask a fishery biologist they may not confirm these beliefs but they also will not rule them out. Let’s take a look at how the moon phases make fish react.

We know that shellcrackers and other panfish spawn on the moon phases as do walleye. It has not been scientifically proven that bass spawn with the moon, but if you ask some serious bass anglers what they say you will usually get the same answer. I myself believe that bass are extremely affected by the moon and do spawn on new and full moon periods. I fish in Florida all the time and after a new full moon, look out! The big females are going to come shallow to spawn.

Some theorize that gravity levels are different on various moon periods, or that there is some electromagnetic influence. Whatever the reason the moon does seem to affect man and bass alike. Although let’s clarify that not every moon phase will trigger spawning activity, you will of course need the right water temperature for this to take place. The ideal temperature is 60 to 65 degrees. There are many factors that can stop the spawn dead in it’s tracks such as a massive cold front or heavy wind. About fifty percent of the month falls into what is called the strong moon phase, this is the three days before and after a full moon period.

If you do experience some type of weather or phase were the bass pull off the beds look to the closest deep water areas. Bas will not stray far from their nests and can be vulnerable to catch. Look for areas such as slight contour changes or thick grass close to the spawning area. Fish these areas with soft plastics such as a Gitem’ Bug or Warlock. Move slow and make several casts to cover and areas where you believe the bass have positioned themselves. Keep your distance and always work your way in to an area where you believe there is spawning activity.

If you do like to fish for bedding bass try and always keep them healthy and practice catch and release during this time of year. They will return the favor by producing thousands of new bass for you to catch in the future. So whatever you believe the moon phases do or do not affect it’s worth looking into and learning about, more knowledge can never hurt!

Keywords:  Moon Phases  |  bedding bass 

Popularity: 28% [?]

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What’s your favorite plastic crawfish? I have just found mine, the new Gitem’ Bug. It combines size, durability and appeal which are major factors to consider when choosing a plastic craw.

What makes the Gitem’ Bug so great is it’s ability to be fished many different ways. The compact 3″ size is perfect for flipping heavy matted vegetation and the action is great for dragging behind a Carolina rig. This is one of the most versatile crawfish ever produced! The reverse ribbed design gives the bait the ability to push against the water creating air bubbles and vibration. This makes the Gitem’ Bug irresistible to big bass! I love to fish this bait in scattered grass where the vegetation is not to thick. The swimming action of the bait really mimics a fleeing crawfish. I have had fish chase it out of the water! The Gitem’ Bug comes in 11 great colors and I guarantee you will catch fish on this great new bait! If you like fishing a plastic crawfish you need this bait!

Check them out at www.gitembaits.comand tell them FishingReelDealz sent you!

Keywords:  plastic craw  |  Gitem’ Bug 

Popularity: 36% [?]

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  How does a 13 ball bearing, all metal frame reel with centrifugal magnetic cast control sound? I bet you are interested but you are concerned about the price, right? Well, this new Pinnacle Vision XLT reel will retail in stores and other Internet sites for $150.00 plus! That’s why you need to look no further than FishingReelDealz.com! We are going to have this reel on sale as soon as we get them in stock! Our sale price of only $ 119.99 will not even come close to being beat!

The Vision Series reels will encompass three different models. The Vision XLT, Vision XLand Vision X. The Vision XLT as we described before is going to revolutionize baitcasting reels as we know them! The thirteen quality bearings it will house will make this reel stand alone. The next reel in the Vision series is the XL, it will contain 11 ball bearings with the centrifugal magnetic cast control also. This reel really resembles the Daiwa SOL but will soon overshadow it’s counterpart. This reel will retail in stores and Internet sites for $130.00 plus. It to will be on sale as soon as we recieve them! The FishingReelDealz price will be $99.99!

The third reel in this awesome new series is the Vision X. This reel will have the same look and style of it’s siblings minus the soft touch medal frame and it will contain 9 ball bearings. I personally love the color of this reel and I guarantee it will out perform higher dollar reels of it’s kind from other manufactures. The Vision X will retail in stores and other Internet sites for $119.99. This reel as the others will be immediately discounted to our sale price of $89.99!

I hope you take advantage of this great offer because we want to be your number one source for fishing reels! We will not be undersold! We are tournament anglers and understand the importance of quality at a reasonable price! That’s who we are, that’s FishingReelDealz!

Keywords:  Pinnacle Vision Reels  |  Daiwa SOL 

Popularity: 39% [?]

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The new Gitem’ K.O. is possibly the best stick bait to ever be produced. It has many great attributes that makes it a cut above the competition!

What did you think when you first saw a stick bait or better known as a ” Do Nothing ” worm? I was a little sceptical at first until about two minutes after I tried one! I have been hooked on them ever since! I have not been fishing a day since where I do not have one of these dynamic baits tied on at least one of my rods. I recently became a member of the Gitem’ Baits Prostaff and was introduced to the Gitem’ K.O. This is the first stick bait I have ever used where It can be used multiple times after catching fish. It is extremely durable but still has the same flex and bend that a stick bait needs to be productive.

I recently took a trip and put them to the test and was amazingly surprised to see how well it holds up after being attacked by a bass. I used the same Gitem’ K.O. for all four fish that ate it! I highly recommend getting your hands on these awesome new baits and see what a difference they will make on your next trip. My favorite colors for the Gitem’ K.O. is the Junebug Blue w/ silver glitter. This bait really has a great look under the water. Also try the Watermelon Red and Black and Blue. When you look for a stick bait you want it to have very good flexibility so that it really quivers and shakes in the water when fished. The new Gitem’ K.O. is well beyond great action! They have combined action and durability to create the king of the stick baits! You will not find a better stick bait on the market today!

 Check out the full Gitem’ Baits lineup at www.gitembaits.comtoday! Tell them FishingReelDealz sent you!

Keywords:  Gitem’ K.O.  |  stick baits 

Popularity: 21% [?]

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There are many different ways to get quality bites in the summer months that do not require you to fish offshore structure. Bass are always shallow somewhere on your water in the summertime, here’s how to find them.

Vegetation is the number one thing I seek out in the hot summer months. I know bass will relate to this type cover all year round and are usually very receptive to baits. I know your probably thinking heavy matted stuff right? Well, wrong! It can be grass as simple as pond weed that will hold bass in the summer. I will always start out and work my way in to the fish during this time. Many bass will hold on outside weedlines and be very predictable in food choice. I like to throw a popper to start and back that up with a small finesse worm for fish that do not eat the topwater offerings. My favorite search baits are often topwater baits. They can give away the location of active fish.

Backs of creeks are also great this time of year and offer a bass a smorgasbord of food choices. When fishing the backs of creeks I mean the very backs of creeks! So far back you can cast from one side to the other. This gets bass close to current flow and they do not see much fishing pressure. Runoff areas usually occur here and this gives the bass fresh water which is normally cooler. Try and stay away from creeks with no current flow because this leaves the area with not much oxygen and thus bass vacate the area. If you find a cove with good current flow and laydowns you need to stop and fish this area hard. This gives a bass everything they need to thrive. Many anglers like to fish reaction baits here but I normally go straight to fishing jigs and plastics. I start out with a small finesse jig such as a baby Booyah jig tipped with a plastic chunk trailer. I back that up with a Gitem’ K.O. or Warlock.

Boat docks and piers can really produce good numbers of bass during this period and are relatively easy to fish. Try to focus on docks and piers with pillings that support the dock thus giving it natural cover for the bass to relate to. I also then narrow my search down to which docks have grass around them or scattered wood. Docks and piers with this type cover will be more attractive to bass in the hot summer days. When fishing docks and piers I like to pitch a Texas rigged worm or lightly weighted Gitem’ shad around the pillings or pockets in the grass. Make sure you control your boat when fishing these areas, bass will tend to spook if you get to close.

If your lake, river or reservoir has a bridge you need to fish it! Often times bridges will have areas that have multiple structure types such as rock mixed with grass or timber. This can be a hotspot for bass and water around the pillings can be cooler during this time. This is where I will normally throw reaction type offering to the bass. My favorite way to catch bridge bass is to bang crankbaits off the bridge pilling in shallow water. Bass cannot stand a shad darting in front of their face for long! Give this a try if you have access to bridges on your water.

Do not let the dog days of summer keep you from cashing in on some hot bassin’ action! Get out there early and load the boat with these tactics we discussed today!

Keywords:  Bass  |  Booyah jig 

Popularity: 29% [?]

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Having a good sonar unit can turn a bad day fishing into a magical outing. Here are some basics on sonar and why you need one.

I personally use a Lowrance X15 split screen GPS and sonar, it has really given me a more defined approach to fishing every time I hit the water. I can rely on it to help me find areas that I otherwise would never know about. I am still in the learning process of how to fully read what I am seeing but just being able to see depth changes can make a huge difference in my decisions. I primarily fish in central Florida so deep water is usually not an option. You have to be able to determine subtle depth changes as well. Sometimes a 18 to 25 inch depth change is all you need to locate fish.

If you are in the market for a sonar unit make sure you look for these features. Your screen clarity is extremely important, you do not want alot of clutter that you have to spend time deciphering. A good 240 pixel unit is normally all you will need. This will give you a very high quality display. You will want unit that has good detail for showing individual fish signatures. Fish are detected by their entire skeletal structure, their swim bladder and their overall mass. Black and white units will have many different shades of gray to show different signal strengths depending on your individual settings on your unit. Many new models are color which is easier to see details thus making it easier to determine what you are seeing on the screen. The past problems with these color units was the sun affecting the ability to read the screen. This has been remedied by the introduction of LCD screen covers.

I quickly learned that looking for fish on your sonar is not always the best approach. I like to travel the lake I am on and watch my graph to show me key areas such as ledges, creek channels, grasslines and hard to soft bottoms. This gives me a place to start, and I determine the time of year I am fishing and the conditions to start putting together a plan of attack.

If you are able to be a bit picky on your sonar selection I would recommend a sonar/GPS combo. This gives you the best of both worlds and makes things easier when trying to determine a specific area to fish. The ability to view a map of the lake you are on and see the depth and contour changes is amazing and can be a huge benefit. My Lowrance gives me the ability to choose certain areas to fish without ever casting a line. I look at the map and compare it with the sonar to locate potential hotspots and am able to save precious time when on the water.

If you have not yet invested in a good sonar unit you need to really consider doing so. Save a few bucks here and there and before you know it you will be on your way to finding areas you only dreamed about!

Keywords:  Sonar  |  Lowrance 

Popularity: 21% [?]

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If you are tired of beating the bank and feel the need to fish some deeper, possibly undiscovered hotspots then you need to search out the ledges on your home water. Here’s how to locate these overlooked bass sanctuaries.

Think of a ledge as a shelf. It is usually long and flat on the top and then drops off sharply on one side. This type contour really benefits a bass and how they approach feeding and resting. This is like a rest stop for passing fish, and gives them a place to ambush baitfish. Ledges can often be single staged or multi-staged. Bass will relate to both at certain times of the year.

Ledges are more commonly found in man made reservoirs but can occur in natural lakes and rivers as well. Ledges appear on topographical maps as parallel contour lines running close together. Use your graph to pinpoint the ledge and always carry marker buoys to mark your spots so you can fish them more effectively. What ledges you should fish depends on the time of year, water temperature and water clarity. Try and seek out shallow ledges when the visibility is slim. Bass relate more to shallow water during this time. If you are fishing ultra clear water try and locate deeper ledges in the range of 18 to 25 feet. These type ledges are exceptional in winter and summer.

Here are some lures you need to have on hand if fishing ledges:

 Suspending Jerkbait

Sometimes bass will suspend above a ledge if the water is clear enough and can be caught using a suspending jerkbait. This is a great technique for lethargic fish.

Grubs

These baits are best in fall and winter when the bass are staging on ledges and not willing to chase your offerings. Use this on light line and stay small with your baits. A good spinning outfit should do you well here. Let the grub fall from one ledge to the next.

Deep Diving Crankbaits

This is a great way of provoking a reaction strike from bass that are holding on ledges. The diving action the bait has will deflect off the ledges really getting the bass to make a commitment to eat it. Work it at different speeds to find out the best retrieves. I like this type bait for summer ledge fishing.

Spoons

Here is a great bait for mimicking bait fish and keeping your bait in position to get bit. This is usually done vertically and  worked at different depths until you find the right strike zone. Spoons are a great way of getting bass to react and become active.

Jig and Pig

This is one of my favorite lures for fishing shallow ledges during the colder months. I normally fish this bait when the water is murky or off color. Swim the jig and let it fall very slow keeping it in the strike zone longer. Here lethargic bass have time to react.

Carolina Rig

This is one of the most popular techniques for fishing ledges. It can work any time of the year and targets bass at different depths. Many different style baits may be used also. Experiment with different bait sizes and types until you find the one they are keying on.

I hope this has inspired you to get out and fish ledges with more confidence and understanding. It can be intimidating at times but stick with it and it will pay off!

Keywords:  fishing ledges  |  carolina rig 

Popularity: 30% [?]

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The use of search baits can really help in finding a definite pattern. There are many good baits you may use to search out hungry bass, here are a few you may want to try.

One of my favorite search baits is a lipless crankbait. This bait really covers alot of water an sends out a tremendous amount of vibration and flash that will attract fish from long distances. The object here is to try and get bass to strike out of reaction. This can also give you and idea of where groups of fish are holding. My favorite lipless crankbait choices are a Strike King Diamond Shad, Lucky Craft LVR and the original Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. Stock your box with these three baits and you will be covered for fishing lipless rattle baits.

Spinnerbaits are also a great choice when tying on a search bait. A spinnerbait can reach areas and depths that the lipless crankbait cannot. My personal favorite spinnerbait is made by Terminator. I love the titanium frame and the true swimming action you get from each of their products. I like the 1/4 oz. size spinnerbaits the best for covering water quickly and searching out the best and most productive areas. Try using a spinnerbait on windy days where the water is alittle choppy. This is where it will really produce.

Crankbaits can also be a very good choice for searching out bass and also great for locating underwater structure. I use them very often to get a good idea of what is under the surface so I can better understand the bottom contour. Some good choices here are the Yo- Zuri Hardcore Shad, Bomber Model A and Bandit series. Many strikes will occur when fishing these baits around cover when the bait deflects from the structure. Hold on to your rod because these strikes can be ferocious.

I saved my personal favorite for last. When searching out bass hotspots here in Florida I love to use a topwater frog. I feel that the quality of fish I find with the frog are often times better than average and will really give me an edge on other stringers of fish being caught. I like the Gitem’ Toad and the Sizmic Toad for searching out big bass. If the fish miss the frog of fail to get hooked I will immediately throw a weightless Gitem’ K.O. in the area and more often than not hook up with that same fish. That’s why I love the frog as a search bait. It really gets the fish in a feeding mood.

Give these search bait tactics a try next time you are on the water and maybe you will come up with your own methods and strategies for using them!

Keywords:  search baits  |  Bomber Model A 

Popularity: 26% [?]

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The Basstrix Paddle Tail Tube is not the only Basstrix bait that will produce good numbers of keeper sized bass! Let’s take an in depth look at the Basstrix line of baits and why they are so good.

The Paddle Tail Tube is a bait like none other. The hollow body makes it one of a kind when it comes to swimbait designs. The single most important feature of these baits is the scale like finish and life like look the bait has when fished. The colors are unmatched and the action unbeatable. Although the Paddle Tail Tube gets most of the credit there are a few other Basstrix baits that will load the boat for you!

The Fat Minnow also produces very well all over the country. The best way to fish this bait is a drop-shot rig. This lets the bait mimic a dying baitfish and it stays in the strike zone longer when fished this way. The Fat Minnow can also be used as a jerkbait or even on a Carolina-Rig. The Fat Minnow is very versatile and easier to get your hands on than it’s sibling the Paddle Tail Tube.

The Flash Trix is also a great bait from the Basstrix line, it is another great bait to use on a drop-shot rig. The flat sides make it very visible to the bass when twitched or shaken. The inside walls of the bait act as mirrors to reflect the light and produce maximum flash that will get the attention of nearby fish. The finish on the outside body of the bait is identical to a shad and the scale patterns show up remarkably when fished. This bait can also be fished in many different ways such as a split-shot rig or a Carolina Rig.

One of my favorites is the Fat Minnow Soft Jerk Bait. This bait is also hollow leaving room for rattles and scent to be added to enhance it’s capabilities. The action is great when used like a regular soft jerkbait or even on a Carolina Rig. Use this bait around shallow grass and log jams where bait will normally congregate. Try rigging this bait with an extra wide gap hook for added penetration on strikes.

The last bait we will touch on will be the Bait Fry. This bait resembles a small sunfish or bluegill. The action is awesome and can be fished in different ways. I like it during the spawn for fishing around beds where bass can not stand the presence of bream. Try using it on a light jighead or even a heavy drop-shot rig.

You may not be a fan of swimbaits or like spending the money for them but they can really pay of in some big ways! I recommend giving them a try and find out what everyone else is experiencing.

Keywords:  Basstrix Paddle Tail Tube  |  Basstrix 

Popularity: 85% [?]

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